Shell’s Arctic failures – a campaign briefing

Publication date: 8th July 2015

Publication date:

8 July, 2015

In January 2015, Royal Dutch Shell confirmed that it intended, subject to regulatory approval, to resume its US Arctic drilling programme. Shell’s exploration plan was formally approved by the US government in early May, by which time the company had already begun to move drilling units and infrastructure towards Alaska, ahead of this summer’s short drilling window. In August Shell began to drill. But a closer look at Shell’s history in the Arctic, the history of the drilling units it plans to use (and their specifications) makes it clear that its operation in the Chukchi Sea can’t be performed safely.